Travel Tips for Salt Lake City: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Salt Lake City Wikitravel Website:http://wikitravel.org/en/Salt_Lake_City
Dale the RON - October 2007:
I am sitting here for over 33.1476 minutes thinking what to write about SLC. Unless you have relatives (that you like), friends that you can stand, or are into religious artifacts, I can not think of any reason to go to SLC. I just spent two days there in a nice mountain home (not like we do not have a couple thousand places like it in CO) and this town is just another cookie cutter town. Home depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Wal-Mart and Mickey Ds on every Interstate exchange. I hear they have a decent Basketball team and choir.
Mike Summers - November 2011
Salt Lake City was a nice day trip, but you could easily add a day (or two). I flew out on the 8:15 AM flight. My plan was simple, visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site, visit the University of Utah campus, and visit a brew pub. All of this was done in one day, and I returned on the 5:10 PM flight to Denver (instead of the 8:30 PM flight). The Frontier gate is in Terminal A. I managed to rent a car through Thrifty that cost $21.00 (with taxes) for the day. Rental cars are in a garage across from the terminal with no bus ride - making it easy to use. The Golden Spike National Historic Site is an hour and 45 minute drive north of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15 (Map with Directions: http://www.mapquest.com/print?a=app.core.c6a459478bb768025b5648e2 ). Here are two websites for the historic site:
(Websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site and http://www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm ). This site is where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads joined their rails as the raced toward each other in the 1860's. It's quite a desolate spot, but there is a nice visitor's center ($5.00 admission/car) with a 20 minute video and some nice displays along with the actual spot where the Golden Spike was hammered in place. I think it would be a great trip for kids or grandkids. I really enjoyed the visit. Next, I drove back to Salt lake City and visited the University of Utah Campus. Directions to the Utah Campus: http://www.utah.edu/directions/ . I found a nice Visitor Center parking lot near the football stadium & the University Bookstore. Bookstore website: http://www.bookstore.utah.edu/utah/home.aspx
and an interactive campus map: http://www.map.utah.edu/index.html . I'm looking forward to returning for a Colorado Vs Ute football or basketball game. Lastly, it was time for a late lunch. I chose Squatters Pub and Beer which was on a direct route from the campus to the airport. Very nice upscale restaurant and pub (Website: http://squatters.com/ ). It's right across the street from a PF Chang's Bistro. Other restaurants were nearby such as the Green Pig (website: http://thegreenpigpub.com/ ) & Caffe Molise (website:http://www.caffemolise.com/ ). If you don't want to rent a car, you can visit Salt Lake City by light rail from the airport (websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTA_TRAX and http://www.urbanrail.net/am/salt/salt-lake-city.htm and http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=RidingUTA). I read that an all-day pass is $6.25, but I was happy with my rental car. Here's some websites for other attractions in Salt Lake City that I did not visit: http://www.saltlakecityutah.org/attractions.htm and http://www.go-utah.com/Salt-Lake-City/Attractions/ and http://www.saltlakecity.com/attractions/. Lastly, Utah is home to the nearest IN-N-OUT Burgers from Colorado. I noticed one on my drive north on I-15 (IN-N-OUT Burger Locations: http://www.in-n-out.com/locations.asp ). Salt Lake City was a fun day-trip. Give it a try!
Enjoy!
Mike Summers
Mike Summers - September 2013:
Went to Salt Lake City (Airport Website: http://www.slcairport.com/ ) for a day/lunch trip with my wife. The plan was simple. We took the Light Rail Green Line from the airport into downtown (Light Rail Website: http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=Bus-BusHome-Route704 ). The Light Rail leaves the airport every twenty minutes on Saturdays. A round trip ticket is $5.00 per person. We exited the Light Rail at the Gallivan Plaza Light Rail Stop at 300 S. Main. From the station, we walked 1/4 mile west on Broadway for about five minutes to Squatters Pub and Beer on the south side of the street at 147 West Broadway. Squatters has a nice menu (Website: http://www.squatters.com/ ) and good beer. The Blackened Tilapia Salad is great with the Hefeweizen Beer. After lunch we left Squatters Pub and Beer and walked back to our Light Rail Station, where we went back to the airport (about 25 minutes). We had a great flight home. Give it a try sometime!.
Mike Summers - December 2013:
Returned to Salt Lake City for a second day/lunch trip with my wife. We took the Light Rail Green Line from the airport into downtown (Light Rail Website: http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=Bus-BusHome-Route704 ). The Light Rail leaves the airport every 20 minutes on Saturdays. A round trip ticket is $5.00 per person. We exited the Light Rail at the Courthouse Light Rail Stop at 450 S. Main. From the station, we walked south 1/2 block on Main St. then east (left) for five blocks on Cesar Chavez Blvd., then we turned south (right) on South 500 East for one block to Desert Edge Brewery on the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. at 602 S. 500 East. Desert Edge Brewery has a nice menu (Website: http://www.desertedgebrewery.com/index.html ) and good beer. Desert Edge is located in the Trolley Square District of Salt Lake City (Website: http://www.trolleysquare.com/ ) where there are many shops and stores. Wiseguys Comedy Club (Website: http://wiseguyscomedy.com/trolley-square ) is also located in the Square. After lunch, just take the reverse route back to the Green Line Light Rail Station at on Main Street between 400 and 500 S. Main. The Light Rail takes around 25 minutes to get you back to the airport.
Mike Webster - December 2013:
My wife and I took our 2 year old on a day trip here last minute because there were seats open. We enjoyed it and would go back but unless you're going for a specific reason there's no reason to stay more than one day. We rented a car from Alamo which had terminal pick up which was nice. Our first stop was to see the state building, very similar to ours here in Denver. The strange thing was it seemed to be on the outskirts of town, not another major building around. They have free tours you can take and there is a visitors center across the street with information on anything you could want for Utah. https://utahstatecapitol.utah.gov/
We then went and had lunch at Crown Burgers which was featured on Man Vs. Food (I love that show). We got there at about 1130 and were the only ones in there so we were a little hesitant but by the time we were done eating the line was nearly out the door. They are famous for their "Crown Burger" which has a serving of pastrami on top. If you're craving a burger and don't need an In-n-out fix then this is the place to go. http://www.crown-burgers.com/
We ended the day with the Utah Natural History Museum. It was a very well done museum we thought and was a very nice building made with a copper exterior. If you like architecture this is a building to check out. It cost us $22 for the family, http://nhmu.utah.edu/?gclid=CMekoeOK3LsCFecRMwodVhcAaw
We ended our day with two attempts at taking in the scenery but they have a terrible inversion layer that prevents you from seeing much of anything. This is the Place Heritage park is the spot were the founders of the city decided that is where they would settle. It is suppose to have an awesome view but like I said the inversion sucks! http://www.thisistheplace.org/
I hope this helps someone, this was my first attempt at a day trip.
Mike Webster
Mike Summers - February 2017:
After reading an article in the Denver Post, we decided to do an overnight visit to Salt Lake City. There is no need to rent a car. Public transportation to and from the Salt Lake City International Airport is provided by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA). The TRAX/light rail Green Line leaves the airport every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 20 minutes on weekends. The TRAX stop is located at the south end of Terminal One. To locate the TRAX stop, visit this Airport Terminal Map. The fare is $2.50 each way or $6.00 for a day pass. We decided to stay at the Hotel Monaco, which is located near the Green Line. Hotel Monaco Website: www.monaco-saltlakecity.com/hotels-downtown-salt-lake-city/ . The hotel is at the corner of 200 South and Main streets, placing you at the epicenter of business and fun. Ride the TRAX light rail Green line and get off at Gallivan Plaza. After checking in to our hotel, we decided to visit the Natural History Museum of Utah ( Website: https://nhmu.utah.edu/ ). They have many interactive exhibits and displays on a variety of subjects including dinosaur fossils, astronomy, and geology. To get there you can take the TRAX University/Red Line to the Medical Center TRAX Stop. From TRAX, take the University of Utah Black Shuttle (M-F service only) to the Museum. There is also bus service.
Four UTA Bus routes stop at the intersection of Chipeta and Wakara Way, which is two blocks west of the Museum. Those routes are: 1) 228 - travels from downtown Salt Lake to Research Park to the 45th South TRAX Stop (M-F service only), 2) 313 - an Express route to/from the south Salt Lake Valley (M-F service only), 3) 455 - travels from the University of Utah to Ogden (M-F service only), and 4) 473 - an Express route to/from Ogden (M-F service only). After our visit to the Museum, we headed back past our hotel and on to Temple Square (Website: http://www.templesquare.com/ ). There are two Visitor's Centers, the Tabernacle, the Beehive House, Salt Lake History, and the Church Office Building (and its observation deck) to name a few of the sites. Before checking out these sites, we had lunch at the Martine Café ( Website: http://www.martinecafe.com/ ) with some excellent hot and cold sandwiches. That evening we headed to the Vivant Smart Home Arena for a Utah Jazz game ( Arena Website: http://www.vivintarena.com/ ). The TRAX Green line runs near the Arena ("Arena" Stop). After the game we headed to the Red Rock Brewing Company for a late meal ( Website: http://redrockbrewing.com/ ) at 254 South 200 West, which was near our hotel. Plenty of variety from salads, pasta, pizzas, and sandwiches are available. The next morning we checked out Eborn Books ( Website: http://www.ebornbooks.com/home.html ) which is full of rare, used, and new books along with a café that serves homemade pie. Before heading back to the airport by way of the TRAX Green Line, we had lunch at Bambara, which was located in the lobby of our hotel ( Website: http://www.bambara-slc.com/ ).
Salt Lake City ended up being a nice trip with minimal expense.
Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salt Lake City Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Salt_Lake_City
Dale the RON - October 2007:
I am sitting here for over 33.1476 minutes thinking what to write about SLC. Unless you have relatives (that you like), friends that you can stand, or are into religious artifacts, I can not think of any reason to go to SLC. I just spent two days there in a nice mountain home (not like we do not have a couple thousand places like it in CO) and this town is just another cookie cutter town. Home depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Wal-Mart and Mickey Ds on every Interstate exchange. I hear they have a decent Basketball team and choir.
Mike Summers - November 2011
Salt Lake City was a nice day trip, but you could easily add a day (or two). I flew out on the 8:15 AM flight. My plan was simple, visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site, visit the University of Utah campus, and visit a brew pub. All of this was done in one day, and I returned on the 5:10 PM flight to Denver (instead of the 8:30 PM flight). The Frontier gate is in Terminal A. I managed to rent a car through Thrifty that cost $21.00 (with taxes) for the day. Rental cars are in a garage across from the terminal with no bus ride - making it easy to use. The Golden Spike National Historic Site is an hour and 45 minute drive north of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15 (Map with Directions:
http://www.mapquest.com/print?a=app.core.c6a459478bb768025b5648e2 ). Here are two websites for the historic site:
(Websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site and http://www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm ). This site is where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads joined their rails as the raced toward each other in the 1860's. It's quite a desolate spot, but there is a nice visitor's center ($5.00 admission/car) with a 20 minute video and some nice displays along with the actual spot where the Golden Spike was hammered in place. I think it would be a great trip for kids or grandkids. I really enjoyed the visit. Next, I drove back to Salt lake City and visited the University of Utah Campus. Directions to the Utah Campus: http://www.utah.edu/directions/ . I found a nice Visitor Center parking lot near the football stadium & the University Bookstore. Bookstore website: http://www.bookstore.utah.edu/utah/home.aspx
and an interactive campus map: http://www.map.utah.edu/index.html . I'm looking forward to returning for a Colorado Vs Ute football or basketball game. Lastly, it was time for a late lunch. I chose Squatters Pub and Beer which was on a direct route from the campus to the airport. Very nice upscale restaurant and pub (Website: http://squatters.com/ ). It's right across the street from a PF Chang's Bistro. Other restaurants were nearby such as the Green Pig (website: http://thegreenpigpub.com/ ) & Caffe Molise (website:http://www.caffemolise.com/ ). If you don't want to rent a car, you can visit Salt Lake City by light rail from the airport (websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTA_TRAX and
http://www.urbanrail.net/am/salt/salt-lake-city.htm and http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=RidingUTA). I read that an all-day pass is $6.25, but I was happy with my rental car. Here's some websites for other attractions in Salt Lake City that I did not visit: http://www.saltlakecityutah.org/attractions.htm and http://www.go-utah.com/Salt-Lake-City/Attractions/ and
http://www.saltlakecity.com/attractions/. Lastly, Utah is home to the nearest IN-N-OUT Burgers from Colorado. I noticed one on my drive north on I-15 (IN-N-OUT Burger Locations: http://www.in-n-out.com/locations.asp ). Salt Lake City was a fun day-trip. Give it a try!
Enjoy!
Mike Summers
Mike Summers - September 2013:
Went to Salt Lake City (Airport Website: http://www.slcairport.com/ ) for a day/lunch trip with my wife. The plan was simple. We took the Light Rail Green Line from the airport into downtown (Light Rail Website: http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=Bus-BusHome-Route704 ). The Light Rail leaves the airport every twenty minutes on Saturdays. A round trip ticket is $5.00 per person. We exited the Light Rail at the Gallivan Plaza Light Rail Stop at 300 S. Main. From the station, we walked 1/4 mile west on Broadway for about five minutes to Squatters Pub and Beer on the south side of the street at 147 West Broadway. Squatters has a nice menu (Website: http://www.squatters.com/ ) and good beer. The Blackened Tilapia Salad is great with the Hefeweizen Beer. After lunch we left Squatters Pub and Beer and walked back to our Light Rail Station, where we went back to the airport (about 25 minutes). We had a great flight home. Give it a try sometime!.
Mike Summers - December 2013:
Returned to Salt Lake City for a second day/lunch trip with my wife. We took the Light Rail Green Line from the airport into downtown (Light Rail Website: http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=Bus-BusHome-Route704 ). The Light Rail leaves the airport every 20 minutes on Saturdays. A round trip ticket is $5.00 per person. We exited the Light Rail at the Courthouse Light Rail Stop at 450 S. Main. From the station, we walked south 1/2 block on Main St. then east (left) for five blocks on Cesar Chavez Blvd., then we turned south (right) on South 500 East for one block to Desert Edge Brewery on the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. at 602 S. 500 East. Desert Edge Brewery has a nice menu (Website: http://www.desertedgebrewery.com/index.html ) and good beer. Desert Edge is located in the Trolley Square District of Salt Lake City (Website: http://www.trolleysquare.com/ ) where there are many shops and stores. Wiseguys Comedy Club (Website: http://wiseguyscomedy.com/trolley-square ) is also located in the Square. After lunch, just take the reverse route back to the Green Line Light Rail Station at on Main Street between 400 and 500 S. Main. The Light Rail takes around 25 minutes to get you back to the airport.
Mike Webster - December 2013:
My wife and I took our 2 year old on a day trip here last minute because there were seats open. We enjoyed it and would go back but unless you're going for a specific reason there's no reason to stay more than one day. We rented a car from Alamo which had terminal pick up which was nice. Our first stop was to see the state building, very similar to ours here in Denver. The strange thing was it seemed to be on the outskirts of town, not another major building around. They have free tours you can take and there is a visitors center across the street with information on anything you could want for Utah. https://utahstatecapitol.utah.gov/
We then went and had lunch at Crown Burgers which was featured on Man Vs. Food (I love that show). We got there at about 1130 and were the only ones in there so we were a little hesitant but by the time we were done eating the line was nearly out the door. They are famous for their "Crown Burger" which has a serving of pastrami on top. If you're craving a burger and don't need an In-n-out fix then this is the place to go. http://www.crown-burgers.com/
We ended the day with the Utah Natural History Museum. It was a very well done museum we thought and was a very nice building made with a copper exterior. If you like architecture this is a building to check out. It cost us $22 for the family, http://nhmu.utah.edu/?gclid=CMekoeOK3LsCFecRMwodVhcAaw
We ended our day with two attempts at taking in the scenery but they have a terrible inversion layer that prevents you from seeing much of anything. This is the Place Heritage park is the spot were the founders of the city decided that is where they would settle. It is suppose to have an awesome view but like I said the inversion sucks! http://www.thisistheplace.org/
I hope this helps someone, this was my first attempt at a day trip.
Mike Webster
Mike Summers - February 2017:
After reading an article in the Denver Post, we decided to do an overnight visit to Salt Lake City. There is no need to rent a car. Public transportation to and from the Salt Lake City International Airport is provided by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA). The TRAX/light rail Green Line leaves the airport every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 20 minutes on weekends. The TRAX stop is located at the south end of Terminal One. To locate the TRAX stop, visit this Airport Terminal Map. The fare is $2.50 each way or $6.00 for a day pass. We decided to stay at the Hotel Monaco, which is located near the Green Line. Hotel Monaco Website: www.monaco-saltlakecity.com/hotels-downtown-salt-lake-city/ . The hotel is at the corner of 200 South and Main streets, placing you at the epicenter of business and fun. Ride the TRAX light rail Green line and get off at Gallivan Plaza. After checking in to our hotel, we decided to visit the Natural History Museum of Utah ( Website: https://nhmu.utah.edu/ ). They have many interactive exhibits and displays on a variety of subjects including dinosaur fossils, astronomy, and geology. To get there you can take the TRAX University/Red Line to the Medical Center TRAX Stop. From TRAX, take the University of Utah Black Shuttle (M-F service only) to the Museum. There is also bus service.
Four UTA Bus routes stop at the intersection of Chipeta and Wakara Way, which is two blocks west of the Museum. Those routes are: 1) 228 - travels from downtown Salt Lake to Research Park to the 45th South TRAX Stop (M-F service only), 2) 313 - an Express route to/from the south Salt Lake Valley (M-F service only), 3) 455 - travels from the University of Utah to Ogden (M-F service only), and 4) 473 - an Express route to/from Ogden (M-F service only). After our visit to the Museum, we headed back past our hotel and on to Temple Square (Website: http://www.templesquare.com/ ). There are two Visitor's Centers, the Tabernacle, the Beehive House, Salt Lake History, and the Church Office Building (and its observation deck) to name a few of the sites. Before checking out these sites, we had lunch at the Martine Café ( Website: http://www.martinecafe.com/ ) with some excellent hot and cold sandwiches. That evening we headed to the Vivant Smart Home Arena for a Utah Jazz game ( Arena Website:
http://www.vivintarena.com/ ). The TRAX Green line runs near the Arena ("Arena" Stop). After the game we headed to the Red Rock Brewing Company for a late meal ( Website: http://redrockbrewing.com/ ) at 254 South 200 West, which was near our hotel. Plenty of variety from salads, pasta, pizzas, and sandwiches are available. The next morning we checked out Eborn Books ( Website: http://www.ebornbooks.com/home.html ) which is full of rare, used, and new books along with a café that serves homemade pie. Before heading back to the airport by way of the TRAX Green Line, we had lunch at Bambara, which was located in the lobby of our hotel ( Website: http://www.bambara-slc.com/ ).
Salt Lake City ended up being a nice trip with minimal expense.
Enjoy!